HP & The Unfortunate Incident Involving Animorphs
by Tigerhawk102
Summary: A summon goes wrong blasted mid battle to Hogwarts, the Animorphs have to figure out how to get home. How are Harry and co. going to clean up this mess and still battle the impending evil of Voldemort? coauthored with Khophey
1. Jake

Authors Note: This story is a collaboration between me and my sister. My favorite childhood series was (and still is) Animorphs, and hers is Harry Potter, soo with our powers combined we created a monster before unknown to human kind! Yes, the chapters are short, but there are a ton. We switch views each chapter, with me taking the Animorph views and her taking Harry and co. We have a few chapters already written, but we'll space them a little apart for a while. On another note, my sister is seven years younger, and yet her writing still rivals mine. Awesome, no?

Anyway, now that I have that all out of the way, here you have the best I've got. ) enjoy.

**Jake**

Rachel! Watch out! I called out to my cousin just before the sharp blades of a Hork-Bajir took out a chunk of her hide. She was in a blind rage, her grizzly bear form towering over seven feet and roaring its displeasure. I moved like liquid fire over to her, my large cat paws slapping the alien away. She didn't have time to thank me, already slamming into another body that was coming onto my left. Cassie danced around a few rare human controllers towards the gate we were attempting to breach, her lithe wolf body twisting away from the fatal rays and her thin muzzle darting with deadly precision. Tobias was doing damage with sharp talons and Marco was punching a few faces in with the monster strength of a Lowland gorilla. Where was Ax? There- moving up from the end to find me, his hooves braced on the tile floor while his bladed tail whipped around him like a viper. Okay, we were all still alive.

I'm Jake, by the way. You know our story by now; the kids not yet out of highschool living the double lives of straight A students by day, superheroes saving the world at night. If only it was that easy, if only the world was that perfect. If only I hadn't flunked my last math test because I had been out the night before loosing a battle trying to hinder the construction of a new Yeerk pool and had to sneak out earlier this evening, even though I was grounded, to do the same thing all over again. If only, huh? So to save us the trouble, I'll assume you know the story already, about alien invaders and mind-controlling Yeerks and the Hork-Bajir Marco once described as walking Swiss army knives, and I'll get back to fighting desperately for my life with a back leg tendon severed and mind numbing pain interfering with my ability to think and plan. And I needed to think and plan, because I had to give the directions once we breached that armored gate because that's what everyone else would expect me to do.

Jake! I've smashed the lock! Rachel's voice was strained through the barrier of pain in my mind, but I managed to order her to wait for us before charging in. She loved charging in- she couldn't keep doing that and living on luck. Not with the way we lived off it like fish with water. We were lucky to still be alive, and one day we would come to our senses and stop going on these stupid missions were we could die. Would die.

Tobias! Marco! Move to the gate! Ax was already by my side, protecting my left were my back leg had been cut and was dragging slightly. Tobias flew towards Rachel and Cassie while Ax and I moved to help Marco away from the flashing blades of the enemy. Marco was bleeding badly. We couldn't keep this up. This had to be over soon. Just get in that room, mess with their new toy, and leave. How much time did we have left?

Ax? The time? 

Twenty five more of your minutes, Prince Jake 

I was too winded and dizzy from loss of blood to remind him not to call me that, but Marco always had time to blow off some angry steam.

AX! Stop with the 'your minutes' crap, alright?! 

I understand that your harsh words steam from your frustration and anger at our situation. Cassie explained this to me during our last conversation. 

It always amazed me how formal and composed Ax seemed to be when bleeding from his head and fighting for his life. We were running out of time though- luckily Marco was too angry and frustrated to continue yelling at Ax.

Let's go! I led the charge towards Tobias and the girls, ignoring the pain in my leg- and the pain everywhere else, actually- and barreled through the thin defense between me and them.

Jake, there doesn't seem to be nearly as much back up as normal… Tobias, ever observant, commented as I flew toward the gate. Too late now, I hurt everywhere, my friends were bleeding, this needed to be over- SMASH through the gate and onto clear white linoleum.

I slide forward a few feet from the combined momentum and my slick paws, leaving bloody streaks behind me. I lifted my heavy head and my bleary eyes tried to adjust to the lighting.

I heard the rest of my group amble in behind me, Rachel and Cassie growling low in their throats and Ax's hooves clicking a cautious walk. We all stopped and stared with various clarity at the frail human before us. He was managing a large control panel, and looked pleased with himself. When we crashed through doors and into workplaces, this was not the normal reaction we got. That meant something had gone wrong.

Trap. Ax stated the fact that was dawning on everyone's mind. No, NO- this couldn't happen. We needed out, and we needed it now. The man was dressed in a lab coat as white as the room, and the large control panel was between him and us. I could scale it in a single leap. We had to get to him, now.

MOVE! I shouted second and started the race first, wasting no time. The room wasn't that big, but we were already so damaged and all he did was slip down his goggles and push a button.

Then there was only a white light.


	2. In Which Hermione Has An Idea

Author's Note: Hey, this chapter was written by my little sister, so the style might be a little different. Then again, it's from the point of view of the Harry Potter trio, so they'd have a different mindset than the Animorph kids anyway. The next chapter will be back to me again, and the updates will be regular for a while, so no long waits yet. Good, right? Anyway, thanks for reviewing (you know who you are!) and enjoy this next chapter. 

P.s. the mind speech brackets aren't coming up on here, so sorry about that. If anyone knows HOW to get them to come up, feel free to share. This chapter doesn't have any of those, so it'll be easier to understand.

"Harry! Harry! Come out, I need to talk to you!" a girl's voice called from outside Harry's bathroom hideaway. Looking up, he stared at the door, as though Hermione would burst through it.

"Harry, you really need to come out now! It's been ages, and according to Ron, that's the only _good _toilet!" Her slightly exasperated voice penetrated Harry's thoughts, breaking his stupor. Stretching and standing up from his perch on the toilet seat, Harry opened the stall door, to find an irate Hermione standing in front of him, glaring up.

"Hermione! This is the boy's loo! That symbol of a guy on the door? That means MEN ONLY!" She had the decency to look embarrassed, a flush creeping up her cheeks.

"Well, you wouldn't come out, and I needed to talk to you. Listen, I've had an idea."

"And? What is it?" asked Harry, annoyed.

"We need to find Ron first; I'm not saying it twice. There could be… consequences." Hermione said, secretively. Harry groaned under his breath, staring at his shoelaces. He hated when she got like this. Looking up, he hurried after her, as she had just scampered off down the corridor, chasing a burst of red hair.

Harry had been spending a lot of time off on his own ever since Sirius died. He couldn't understand why whoever up there hated him. He trotted to keep up with Hermione.

"Ow! Gerroff me! Bloody hell, Hermione! We're not playing tackle Quidditch here!" Ron yelled, dropping his bag on the tiled floor and covering his head.

"Sorry, Ron, but you were practically sprinting and your legs are longer than mine! Where were you off to, anyway?" Hermione asked, breathing hard.

"Nowhere." Ron said glancing around furtively. Harry looked quizzically at him, but Ron avoided his gaze.

"Anyway, what's so important? Are you finally going to tell us what you've been up to for the past few weeks?" Ron asked impatiently. Harry turned to follow Hermione, who had walked out of the Entrance Hall and onto the sunny grounds. As they lay down under the willow tree that had so many memories, Hermione pulled some notes out of her bag. Harry craned his neck to see what they said.

"Potions?! This had better not be about some N.E.W.T. homework Snape is springing on us, Hermione!" Harry said heating up. His temper was very short these days. Especially with Snape.

"No! Of course not. This is more important than homework! Anyway, I know that the Avada Kedavra curse takes a few seconds to take effect before you actually die, and I also know that that veil doesn't kill you. It stops everything, and keeps it the way it was before you went into the veil." Harry looked up sharply.

"Wait. So that means Sirius isn't dead?" Harry asked, hope rising in the pit of his stomach and filling up the hole in his heart. Ron bit his lip, sadness and confusion filling his brown eyes. Hermione took a breath.

"Yes. But to get him back we have to break some laws. Because Sirius has been officially writ down as dead, we'll be bringing back the dead, and there is a law against necromancy. Also, the potion we need to make, the_ Summonia Potentia_, is supposed to be for wizards out of school only, so we have to keep this quiet." Ron's face went slack with shock. Harry's jaw fell open, and his heart felt as though it would burst with happiness. _He was going to see Sirius again. _Jumping up, Harry took the notes from Hermione, scanning them, he sighed with relief. He had thought it would take a month like the Polyjuice Potion. The _Summonia Potentia_ only took a couple of hours, but the instructions were devilishly tricky. Where was he going to get _powdered porcupine quills_? Really. _What WAS a porcupine, anyway? It had to have powerful magical attributes to be included in such a potion…_

"What exactly IS a porcupine?" Ron asked, confused. _Yeah_, thought Harry. Hermione sighed.

"Ronald. Didn't you learn _anything _in that _Nature and its Non-magical Inhabitants_ course we took over the summer? A porcupine is that weird thing that looks like a beaver with no tail and big gray spikes all over it!" Hermione said, exasperated. Harry raised his eyebrows at this new development.

"Nature and its Non-magical inhabitants, eh?" Ron glared at him.

"She MADE me do it." He said, sulkily. Hermione rolled her eyes at him, as Harry sniggered un-subtly.

"ANYWAY, we don't need to worry about most of the ingredients, because I've got them. What we need is a cauldron, and I'm thinking the only safe place to do it is in the Forbidden Forest. We can't count on the Room of Requirement, not after fifth year. We can't use our Potions Class cauldron, either, it's too small. We need one that Sirius could stand up in. I think we'll need to steal one from the Potions cupboard. Harry, you'll have to do it, Dobby won't be able to carry it." Hermione said, looking at him. Harry nodded absentmindedly.

"We'll start tonight, and we'll meet in the clearing where we met the thestrals. You remember the place, right?" Harry and Ron nodded.

"Well, no one else does, really, so I don't think we'll be discovered. And Hagrid never teaches the same class twice, so he won't interrupt us. Right, then. At ten o'clock, we'll all meet at the clearing, okay?" Hermione asked, busily.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Ron said, grinning. "It really was boring with nothing to do and no laws to break." Harry laughed. "Yeah, I guess so." Hermione gave a reluctant smile.

CLLANNGGG!

They all jumped. More time had passed than they had thought while sitting in the shade of a willow tree. They hurried up to the castle and Double Potions with the Slytherins. Harry did not care. Even double sessions of Snape and Malfoy couldn't bring his spirit down. _He was going to see Sirius again! _

The hours passed quickly by, as though the clocks had been bewitched. After a light dinner, Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak and snuck down to the dungeons and the Potions cupboard.

"_Alohamora!_" Harry whispered, unlocking the padlock on the cupboard door. It swung open with a creak. Scanning the shelves, Harry finally chose the largest cauldron he could fit under the cloak. Locking the door again with a muttered "_Colloportus!_" Harry met up with Ron on the Marble Staircase, ushering Ron under the cloak and creeping down the stairs on tiptoe. As they unsteadily maneuvered their way to the thestral clearing, Ron let loose a girly squeal as they passed through a spider's web. Harry ignored this, deciding to tease the mickey out of Ron later.

Finally they made it to the clearing, where they found an irate Hermione pacing and tapping her foot.

"What TOOK you so long?" Not pausing for an answer, Hermione continued. "Harry, give that cauldron to me and start grinding these porcupine quills into a powder. Careful now, we wouldn't want you to hurt them!" Harry's eyes almost popped out of his head. "Wouldn't want ME to hurt THEM?!" Hermione ignored him, busily lighting a fire beneath the cauldron.

"Ron, start juicing the bicorn eyes, won't you?" Hermione asked, water now pouring from the tip of her wand into the pot. Ron pulled the eyes toward him, and, with a grunt of disgust, started juicing them. Harry found himself glad he had eaten light. A sharp pain in his finger made him look down. He had pricked himself with the porcupine quill, and a single drop of blood oozed into the cauldron, turning the bubbling water an ominous blush red. Harry gulped and vigorously started pounding the quills into a grayish powder. _Nothing will happen,_ Harry told himself firmly, _it won't make a difference. One drop of blood, big deal. Nothing will happen._ As Hermione started to chop up a fluffy, orange _thing _that looked rather like a furry carrot, but Harry suspected was some sort of tail, Ron finished squeezing the bicorn eyes and with a sigh of relief, dumped the juice in the cauldron.

Hermione glanced over at the cauldron to check on it, and immediately noticed something had gone wrong. The potion at this stage, which was supposed to be a navy blue, was a sickly pink color and emitting an odor like deviled eggs someone left in the sun. Suddenly, white steam started to rise from the cauldron as Ron poured the bicorn eye jelly into it. If there was one thing Hermione knew, it was that magic was rarely flashy unless something bad was about to happen.

"Harry, Ron, get back! Now!" Hermione shrieked, leaping at them. But before she could reach them, the white steam spread like an opaque fog, shining through their tightly closed eyelids and blinding Harry, Ron and Hermione.


	3. Rachel

Author's Note: Okay, so it's a little late to call this a Thursday update, but I've been working all day and such. Anyway, I'm thinking I'll put thought speak in ( )'s now because the other brackets don't come up on fanfiction. I did this one, and it's from the point of view of my childhood hero. Really. I'm trying not to play favorites though, so speak up if you think I'm doing a character wrong, or something. Everyone gets their chance at the spotlight.

In other news, I love you all. Thank you for reviewing.

* * *

**Rachel**

When Jake said 'move', we moved, even though it was useless. It wouldn't have been possible, not even in my cheetah morph. The jerk had pushed the button, and I saw blinding white and a felt a quick tug from somewhere in my middle. Then I was falling, and I might have been screaming or roaring, I couldn't tell. I think my paws or hands were thrashing in front of me, but there was only white. Where was Jake? Tobias? Cassie? I couldn't even feel that annoying clown, Marco. And Ax- where were they?

Then there were flashes of images. In quick concession, faster than I could take them in, I saw a shack amid trees- then an Gothic style school- a sick waste land- black ocean- pig monster screaming- space pirates- Elvin armies- a purple field in orange moonlight a rider in a red cap a smirk with pointed teeth Ancient Egypt under siege by ancient monsters knights battling dragons a black clocked figure knives flying from children hands stout midgets fighting trolls Andalitesenrolledinhighschool asmallgirl liftingboulderswithhermindablindmanholdingabowandarrow- I felt a rushing in my ears my stomach fell through my knees. I replaced rising panic and fear with anger, but there was nothing I could do about it. Trapped. Panicked.

The images slide into a scene of three kids in black robes frantic over a cloud of thick steam. The tug grew strong and then- there! I felt something solid and _pushed_.

I was leaping head first towards the image I had seen of the three robed teens. I landed just short of them on all fours and realized I was still a bear. Then my right forepaw buckled and I remembered every cut and bruise and near-fatal wound. I tried to see the dark blotches through dim eyes and put my fangs on full display. Once again ready to fight- pretending I wasn't still dizzy and hurt and needed to demorph soon. The black smudges were frozen on the spot, and I could smell the familiar odor of fear. I could also smell woods and- Jake? I felt Ax behind me, on the other side of the steam next to my cousin.

(Rachel…) came Jakes tiered and relieved voice inside my head. I felt some liquid splash me as a piercing screech jolted my sluggish brain. Tobias rocketed into the air, cutting the steam in his wake.

(Tobias!) I called to him. I couldn't think of anything else to say.

(Rachel.) he responded in kind.

I saw the black smudges start to swift backwards. I grunted a warning at them.

"Hermione… I think your potions' gone horribly wrong."

Was that… a British accent?

"Ron… this really isn't the time." That thin voice sounded like a girl my age. "We just need to stay calm, and don't make eye contact. Animals take that as a sign of aggression." I felt Jake try to move towards me and stumble, hitting the ground. I twitched, but kept my attention focused. My nerves were on fire, and I didn't think on high alert- I acted. And I could smell the spike of fear as Jake hit the ground, and saw the British kids flinch. Then I felt Cassie as I saw a wolf jumping out from the pool of liquid squatting under the steam. One of the shapes starting moving an arm. I growled a warning and shifted forward. Were we screwed? No, never. Whatever these strange Controllers were, I wouldn't be caught off guard. They wouldn't take me down without some major ass-kicking from yours truly. No way in hell.

"Guys…" This from a third voice, his calm facade strained. "Slowly get your wands… no sudden movements… anyone have a plan?" Where was Marco? Who were these kids? Were they dangerous? Did they have mental issues?

(My plan is you put your grubby little hands back on the ground and I won't smash your faces in. Sound good?) As soon as I started talking they slammed their hands back on the ground and froze, ridged.

"What… what the bloody hell was that?" squeaked one of the boys.

(Rachel…) Jake whispered to me. (We have to get out of here. Quick.)

(I think Marcos here.) That was Tobias, perched above us on a low hanging branch. Then I heard bubbling and twisted my head to the side to half-glance at the large black fist emerging from the pool.

"Oh… oh my god- What is that?!" What was with that girl? You'd think she'd never seen a Lowland Silverback gorilla emerging from a low stand pot thing. Well, to be fair I hadn't either.

(Damn guys, this isn't looking good.) Marco, squeezing powerful fingers around a deep gash on his upper arm.

(Ax?) Jake asked, tense.

(We have three of your minutes left, Prince Jake.) That decided it for us.

(RUN!) We all turned and ran, slapping against low branches and thorny bushes and heading instinctively deeper into the forest.

Heavy breathing, claws and paws tripping over themselves and roots and leaves- run run run. Then-

(Two minutes.)

(Demorph! Everyone, demorph now!)

We all fell over each as some of us couldn't stop as well as others. Well, you'd understand if you'd ever been a Grizzly bear.

Demorphing isn't pretty, isn't easy, but, despite what it looks like, isn't normally painful. I say normally because right now my head is killing me. Exhaustion from battle, from nerves and from morphing had drained me past my limit, though I hated to admit it. The others were the same way, as my bear eyes turned into my stronger human ones I could see Cassie already passed out by the tree. She had always been the fastest morpher. As my fur retreated from my body, I saw Jake amble over next to her and collapse. I stood for a last moment as my body finished off the details and looked over to see Marco sprawled on the ground. He must have fallen asleep as soon as he finished morphing. I turned my tiered eyes to Ax, who had morphed human to heal. He saw me and followed the flick of my eyes to Marco, then nodded. I really didn't have the strength left to speak. I stumbled over to the roots of the tree and braced myself. Do I try and sit down, or just fall? Not yet, Rachel. One last thing to do…

(Go to sleep Rachel, I'll take watch.) Tobias, of course. Normally I would have protested. Tonight I just slide down the rough bark and fell asleep before I was all the way down. I trusted Tobias with my life.

I trusted Tobias with all our lives.

* * *

More author's note?: K, trick question- did anyone recognize any of the flashing scenes that Rachel didn't? Some I made up, others you may remember from hit movies and the cartoon network. ) 


	4. In Which Hagrid Helps

Authors Note: Hey, hi, how's it going? This next part is, of course, my sister. Find any problems, don't be shy. ) Sorry about the delay too, I'm been up to my ears in school, family and job, so I've had little time to post, and less time to write. I'll keep this short!

Oh, and in the last chapter I had scenes from Lord of the Rings, a reoccurring image of a the 'red rider' in a series of famous Russian paintings, Everworld (another Applegate series), Naruto, another Lord of the Rings scene, Toph from Avatar, and a scene from Samurai Jack! And now you know my secret- I'm a nerd. (this is referring to the quick flashes Rachel saw, btw…)

Okay, I'm done. Now on with the show.

* * *

"What the bloody hell was that?" panted Ron, bracing himself against the trunk of a large pine. 

"Something must have gone wrong with the potion." Hermione was just as winded as Ron, her face flushed red with her hair sticking to her face.

"Well, obviously." Said Harry, annoyed. In front of him, Ron's eyes widened and rolled back in his head, and he collapsed. Hermione ran over to him, looking scared. Harry spun, pulling his wand out. A large, hairy brown spider was spinning a web in the tree behind him. Harry turned back to Hermione and the prostrate Ron, exasperated.

"It was just a spider. Can you believe it? He fainted because of a spider!" said Harry angrily. He knew he was only mad because he had been scared for Ron. Hermione didn't seem to know whether to laugh or punch Ron.

"He was already distraught by the potion's malfunction. You can't blame him for being vulnerable." Hermione said reproachfully. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Let's take him to Hagrid's," Hermione said, looking at Ron anxiously. "He'll know what to do about the…the creatures that came out of the potion." She hoisted him halfway off the ground and glared at Harry. Harry took the hint and came over to help. Together they dragged Ron through the forest, making, Harry thought nervously, an unnecessary racket. He didn't want to meet centaurs, or worse. Finally they dragged Ron through Hagrid's pumpkin patch and propped him against a colossal pumpkin. Hermione looked nervously up at the castle. It must have been around one o'clock in the morning. Harry knocked on Hagrid's door. From inside, they heard a muffled snore and a loud CRASH that told them Hagrid had rolled out of bed. Hermione winced.

"I hope no one up at the castle heard that." She whispered. Harry nodded.

"Wha' is it, Pomona? I'm not coming to look at yer stupid Mandrakes at one in the mornin' again!" Hagrid roared, stomping up to the door and wrenching it open.

"Oh, er, morning Hagrid." Hermione said stupidly. But Harry could not blame her for being at a loss for words. The sight of Hagrid in a pair of hairy red pajamas with his hair tied back in a bunch, and wearing fuzzy slippers the size of Harry's school trunk was appalling. Harry stared in horror. Underneath all the hair, Hagrid's pajamas were _plaid. _He rather thought that Lavender Brown, resident fashion guru, might have actually cried.

"Oh, it's you two. Isn't this a little early to be calling? And, _gulping gargoyles_! Is Ron dead?" Hagrid asked worriedly. Hermione seemed to pull herself together and said, "No, he's just unconscious, but we were wondering whether you could help." Harry forced himself to look at Hagrid's face, not his shoes, and saw Hagrid nod. Beckoning them both in, he carried Ron inside as well. Harry and Hermione sat down at the table as Hagrid laid Ron down on the messy bed.

"Hermione, jus' brew us up a cuppa, thanks." Hagrid said, digging in the cupboard. Hermione got up and busied herself with the tea leaves. When she drew back, she had two steaming mugs of tea in her hands. Setting them on the counter, she poured a cup of tea leaves into a large bucket with a handle on the side, which Harry realized must be Hagrid's mug. Handing this bucket to Hagrid, she sat down at the table and wrapped her hands around the warm mug.

Hagrid, having found what he had been looking for, straightened up. Harry saw with a sinking feeling, a steaming bowl of what looked to be Hagrid's interpretation of matzoh-ball soup. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all knew of Hagrid's dreadful cooking, and Hermione looked quite worried as to what Hagrid was going to do with that innocent looking matzoh-ball soup. Turning, Hagrid bent and spooned some soup into Ron's slightly drooling mouth, and made him swallow. Instantly the color returned to Ron's face and ears and he shot up, gibbering. Hagrid grinned.

"Tha's better, innit? Rubeus Hagrid's cure-all matzoh-ball soup'll wake up any dainty fainter. They jus' shoot right up, beggin' fer more!" Hagrid chuckled. The look on Ron's face was definitely not 'begging for more', Harry thought privately.

"Hagrid! What _was _that? Liquefied bogeys?!" Ron exclaimed, his red ears steaming and his eyes bugging. The whole effect was quite comical. Hagrid looked hurt.

"Oi! I just revived you! You should be thankin' me!" he said, indignant. Hermione giggled.

"What are you laughing at?" Ron asked aggressively. Hermione, chuckling, answered, "Oh, I'm- I'm sorry but-heehee- it's just-ohohehee-you look so funny-haheehoo!" She collapsed into a fit of giggling. Ron looked around at Harry, confused.

"What? What's so funny?" Harry saw what Hermione had been laughing at. Hagrid had charmed the smoke issuing from Ron's ears so it sparkled all the colors of the rainbow and flashed _Hagrid is the best! _at him. Harry snorted.

"Mate, I reckon you need to see this for yourself." Harry said, handing Ron a rough, hand carved, wooden hand mirror. Ron brought it up to his face and stared, his eyes narrowing. He turned to Hagrid, sneering.

"Oh, yeah, very funny Hagrid. Way to be a mature adult. Whenever someone gets on your nerves, you can't just charm their ear smoke, you know!" Ron seemed to realize how stupid this sentence was and slumped into a chair. All the fight seemed to have gone out of him.

"Just get rid of the smoke, please, Hermione." Ron grabbed Harry's forgotten cup of tea and drank deeply.

"Oh, Hagrid, that reminds me of what we came here to tell you! We were, uh, working on something in the forbidden forest, and it, er, went wrong. About five dangerous animals and a blue centaur came out of our cauldron. And the bear, I could've sworn it spoke to me! It had an American accent." Hagrid stared at him, wordless. Harry went on. "And then they crashed off into the forest. And then Ron fainted." Hagrid scrambled around the table.

"You say they went off into the forest? Those poor animals! Which way did they go?" Hagrid asked, worriedly.

"Um… north?" Harry told him. Hagrid nodded, shouldered his crossbow, grabbed Fang, and went to the door. Turning, he said, "You three had better get back up to the castle, and go under the cloak!" they nodded, and Hagrid swept out the door, his furry slippers looking quite fearsome in the dawn light.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione put the invisibility cloak on, and walked up to the castle.

* * *


	5. Ax

A/N: Hey, sorry about the long wait again. It's been a tough couple of weeks. BUT the chapters are getting longer, thankfully. And writing Ax was hard, but really funny. For some reason the way he talks just cracks me up. And again, I'm writing thought-speak in ( )'s, because they show up in on this silly site.

Hope you all had a nice Christmas, if you celebrate it. )

**Ax**

(chapter 5)

I watched over them with Tobias for a while, then morphed back into my normal form and rested. I woke in three human hours, when Tobias had to sleep and I took on my watch. We had to pay attention in these woods- I could tell something was not right. They didn't feel as calm and safe as the woods behind Cassie's house. There was something there, past the dim range of my night vision. As the sun started to rise and a pale glow filled the forest, I watched through the trees.

There. Was that something? A pale shape and flick- the tail of a horse, maybe?

I stood still, quiet, completely at attention like I had been trained to do so long ago. One set of eyes swiveled all around me, another watched were the last flicker of movement had been. One eye swerved to check on the others- Prince Jake, safe and still in the same position he had passed out in earlier in the night. Marco, next to him and sprawled, a bit of drool coming out of his mouth. Slightly above him Cassie was somewhat more graceful in her position, braced against the tree with her face pressing into the bark. From past experiences I know that when she wakes, her face will bare the pattern of the material she is pressed against, and this seems like something Marco would do more than Cassie. Rachel is leaning into Cassie's side, slumped like a human doll whose strings have all been severed. Her long blonde hair makes a curtain around her face. Tobias is above her in the tree, beak tucked into wing in rest. Though they are not of the same race, they are important to me. They are family.

A movement far closer than I would have liked brings my complete attention to the figure not ten strides away. What I see stuns me.

It looks like a cross between and Andilite and a human, with a stocky version of our body reaching up into a human head, missing a pair of stalk eyes and holding a mouth. Their tails were more like that of a human horse than our bladed ones, and even their bared upper torso that Prince Jake would call 'human' lacked the fur that spread over the lower half, and the muscles the shone clearly under their skin looked more like a fit human than a lean Andelite. I say 'their' because it would be rude to hazard a guess towards this creature's gender, though going by the human reference towards the upper body I would guess male, but now I notice that there are indeed more than this single intruder. A half dozen more stand sentry around the perimeter of our tree, far enough away that they looked like shades in the morning mist.

"What manner of creature are you, who have brought humans into our forest?" says the closest one, a hand on what looks to be a bent stick, tied with string.

I say nothing, but whisper to the others in private.

(I would recommend that you all awake to our present situation. It seems we have guests.)

"I must be dreaming… I could'a sworn I heard Ax try to tell a joke…" Marco mumbles with eyes still closed. Rachel snaps her eyes open, though, and Prince Jake opens his more slowly, already assessing the situation. Cassie rolls as she starts to wake, and I her Tobias ruffle his feather above us.

(I regret to inform you that this is not an imagined creation of your subconscious, and is, in fact, a real occurrence.)

"Ungh… great. I'm going back to sleep. Wake me at a decent hour, 'k?" Marco had yet to open his eyes. Apparently, he had not felt the presence of the other beings in our midst. They were, at this moment, staring at Marco, who was the only one who had spoken to their knowledge as of yet.

"Marco…" whispered Prince Jake, voice hard as his eyes bore into the creature in front of me. "Open your eyes. Now." He, and the others who were all awake at this point, were staring in various levels of astonishment. Did they not know what these things were as well?

Marco grumbled as he opened his eyes, but froze when they managed to focus on what was around him.

"Please tell me that's not what I think it is."

(What manner of animal is this? I do not remember hearing of it before. It resembles an Andelite.)

"That," breathed Cassie in an air of awe, "is a centaur."

A what?

"I know, human, what I am and what you are. I do not, however, know what this blue creature is. Dose it think? And do not speak of us as if we were not here addressing you. It is a rudeness common to your species, but I will not forgive you for it."

I remained still, main eyes still trained on the speaker and stalk eyes swiveling around from the other 'centaurs,' to our surroundings, to Prince Jake, Marco, Cassie, and Rachel and back again. I did not watch Tobias so as not to alert his presence to the potential threats, should they have neglected it.

"My name is Jake, and this is Ax. I apologize for being rude, but we've never seen a… centaur before."

"Never? And how come you to be in the Forbidden Forest? What business have you here?"

"What is he, Yoda?" mumbled Marco. I guessed this to be a disgruntled joke by his tone. Prince Jake started speaking on top of the last of Marco's statement, maybe hoping to cover up his friend's comment.

"We don't know how we got here, or where 'here' is. Could you please tell us where we are?"

(The kids from last night had English accents, I think. These guys seem to have a little bit too.) Tobias spoke to us in private, masking his thoughts as I did mine.

"Human, I have just said we are in the Forbidden Forest. It is, if you couldn't tell by its name, forbidden for most humans to enter. You must leave now, or be killed." At this the centaur lifted his curved stick and placed another, smaller stick against it, making a bent t shape. The centaurs in the mist copies his movements, bring up their strong looking arms as well. I raised my tail and braced my hooves against the moist soil.

"Everyone morph bird…" Prince Jake whispered the others and stood, taking a step forward.

Suddenly a crash of branches and twigs announced the arrival of another centaur, behind the threatening leader. He was disordered and panting, and scrambled to a halt beside him, who only looked at this new centaur through the corners of his eyes, still in the attack position. I was glad to note that they were in no way as graceful or quick as Andelites.

"Stop! Stop this now, you know this could be the moment that was written in the skies- it would go against custom to act before consulting the council! Lower your bow, you are too rash!"

Now the centaurs had focused their attention completely on this newcomer, and their order was less strict than before. Prince Jake put a hand on my flank and whispered, "In ten, bolt. That'll distract them long enough for us to finish morphing. Tobias will go with you, and we'll catch up. When you can, morph bird too."

So the plan was escape. I had been too distracted by the newcomer, my stalk eyes now turned to see that the four of them were slowly morphing into their birds of choice. Cassie the most discreet and furthest along, but the rest managed to not draw attention to themselves as well in the shadows.

The two centaurs directly in front of me were now arguing, sending glances my way on occasion. The others in the distance had started to lower their weapons as they watched me and the fight. I silently counted, and waited until their weapons had lowed enough that I had time to run. I watched them, and then the newcomer broke off in his speech, looking back at me.

"It-!"

But I was gone.

All four hooves flew over the soil, the trees far enough apart that weaving was easy and natural. My main eyes watched where I was going, while my other set followed the path of the centaurs, who were all in pursuit. Apparently they had forgotten about my friends, crouched at the bottom of the tree apparently harmless, in pursuit of me. Tobias flew above, ready to help should I need it, but I delighted in the taste of the soil and the feel of running in the forest, and was glad to see I was right when I had guess myself to be more agile and quick than these centaurs. They raced behind be, and were slowly falling behind. They would appear on the sides of me at times, and I adjusted my path accordingly.

(Ax!) Tobias's voice was laced with nervous energy. (This doesn't seem right.)

(They are falling behind, Tobias. I am faster than them.)

(Yeah, but it almost seems like they could be- _watch out!_)

As he shouted it, I twisted my body just in time to avoid slamming into a stone wall hidden by ivy. I ran another way and started to feel the same nervousness as Tobias. They knew these woods, and I was the one who was lost. They could be trying to lead me somewhere.

(Start morphing, Ax!) I could hear Prince Jake was close, followed close behind by Marco, Cassie and Rachel.

(I can't believe we're fighting centaurs. This is impossible.) This was, surprisingly, Rachel. She's never been one to say anything is impossible.

(Uh, yeah, almost as impossible as kids who turn into animals and fight invading aliens?) Marco this time.

(Point taken.) replied Rachel.

I was running and morphing at the same time, putting distance between me and them while I still could. Tobias flew ahead.

(Take a ninety degree left past that stump! There's a hill and a big rock you can finish morphing behind. It'll by you some time.)

I followed Tobias' instructions and hunched down on my knees while I concentrated on morphing bird. I could hear the dull roar of many hooves slow in the clearing. Tobias landed next to me on the rock, and I finished.

We both shot through the canopy of leaves and into the morning sky.


	6. In Which There Is Bling

Author's Note: Hey guys. Yeah, a month later I rise from the dead. Sorry. I could claim writers block and midterms, but this is my sister chapter, and she's been on her game better than I have lately. I want to thank you all for being so patient. Also, the next chapter may be as long to come just because I actually wrote an outline for it and it's looking to be a lot longer than I thought. Soon these mini chapters are going to start turning into real chapters… we can only hope, right?

* * *

The next morning, Harry and Ron were finishing homework in the common room, and waiting for Hermione to come down and check it so they could go to breakfast. Ron groaned.

"Where is she? I'm starving!" Ron complained. Harry turned.

"You're always starving, Ron." Harry said dryly. But Ron had a point. Hermione was not the type of girl who took an hour on her hair or clothes. Ron stood up.

"Right, that's it. I'm going up to see what's taking her. Come on, Harry." Ron said. Harry groaned.

"Ron, you can't get up there. No guys allowed, remember? The stairs turn into a slide." Harry said, exasperated. Ron thought about this. Then his eyes lit up.

"You have your broom, right?" Harry stared.

"Yes…" he said, wondering what this could be about.

"Then we could fly up!" Ron said as though he were explaining Arithmancy to a three-year-old.

"What?" Harry was confused. Ron rolled his eyes.

"I could fly up the staircase!" He said. It dawned on Harry.

"Ron! That's a brilliant idea!" Harry said, impressed. Ron grinned, proud of himself. Harry ran up to his dormitory and rifled through his trunk. His Firebolt was at the very bottom. He grabbed it and rushed back down the stairs. He slowed as he approached Ron.

"Er, Ron, it would look pretty weird if we both go on the broom, and you're not that good a flier, so…it'd be better if I…" he trailed off, looking uncomfortable. Ron nodded reasonably.

"It's better if you fly, I think. I'm not so sure about flying a spiral staircase. I dunno if I could do it." Harry nodded, swung his leg onto the broom and kicked off. It felt weird to kick off and only hover a few feet above the ground. Harry was used to shooting hundreds of feet into the air. He slowly flew over to the girl's dormitory staircase and started flying above the stairs. They immediately flattened into a slide. Harry could not resist a triumphant grin as he spiraled up to a door with a painting of a witch and a brass plaque reading _sixth year girls_. He dismounted on the landing and pushed it open, and as he did, the painting on the door let out a bloodcurdling shriek. Harry winced as Lavender Brown threw open the door, her robes on backwards.

"What're you playing at? It's eight o'clock in the morning! Some of us are-" She stopped, surprised.

"How did you get up here?" she asked suspiciously. Then she noticed the broom lying on the landing. Her eyes widened.

"Oooh, I can't believe you tricked the charm! Who are you trying to get up to see? Why am I asking that? Parvati, obviously. I must say, it's about time." Lavender chattered.

"I'm not trying to see Parvati. Why would I? I'm trying to talk to Hermione." Harry said, confused. Lavender looked scornful.

"Well, it's not as if you ever talk to her now you don't have a need for her. Just took her to the dance and never gave her a second glance afterwards." Lavender said, glaring at him. Harry heard Ron calling from below.

"Look, Lavender, I really don't have time for this. Can I talk to Hermione?" He said. Lavender looked smug.

"She's not here. But Parvati is." She said, un-subtly. Harry picked up his broom. He did not think he would need it going down the stairs.

"Where did she go, Lavender?" He said, not in the mood for this. She looked affronted.

"Well, how should I know? She left an hour ago and I figured she was going for an early breakfast." He nodded and put his foot on the first step. Suddenly a large boot appeared out of thin air and kicked Harry very hard in the small of his back. He tumbled down the stairs, broom still in hand. He heard Lavender laughing behind him. With a final crash, he fell to the floor and saw Ron's worried face looming above his.

"Are you alright, mate? What happened? Did you fall off your broom?" Harry sat up, ears ringing and back aching.

"No, the charm kicked me when I was coming back." Ron looked sympathetic for a minute. "Well? Why isn't Hermione with you?" He asked.

"Lavender said she wasn't there. Said she left an hour ago." Harry said, standing up and brushing off his robes. A thought occurred to him. After what had happened, he was surprised he hadn't thought of it before. _Of course! _

"She's probably in the library!" Ron and Harry said in unison. Harry threw his broom onto the couch and ran to the portrait hole, Ron right behind him. Climbing out, they both set off towards the library. They were rounding a corner with a statue of Nicholas Flamel when they saw Hermione staggering out of the library weighed down with a large stack of tottering books. They ran over to help.

"Hermione, where were you this morning? We waited for ages!" Ron said, taking a stack of books from Hermione.

"Thanks, Ron. Sorry, but I had to go to the library. I did a load of research on those animals, and some of them don't even come from this continent! I can't imagine how we managed to summon a gorilla from Africa, or wherever." Hermione said. "And I looked through the whole library. There's nothing on that blue centaur-thing. It doesn't look like any animal I've ever seen, which led me to believe it was a magical creature. But there's no mention of it in _Magical Creatures of Our Time_, or _Fantastic Beasts and Where to __F__ind __T__hem_." Hermione said.

"Never mind that now, can we please go down to breakfast?" Ron groaned as his stomach let out an audible growl. Harry heard a rumbling of talk and saw that the students had just finished breakfast and where now in the corridors, going to their first class.

"Tough luck, mate," Harry said. "It looks like we missed breakfast." His stomach was growling too. Ron looked positively devastated. But then he brightened.

"We've got Binns first. He won't notice if we're missing for a bit while we nip down to the kitchens and get something to eat. Besides, Dobby loves you." Ron said. Hermione looked scornful.

"I can't believe you're going to skip lessons just to go down to the kitchens. Well, maybe I can, but still, with Christmas exams coming up and everything! I refuse to come with you." She said, nose in the air.

"Yeah, well, you've already eaten, haven't you? So you can take notes for us in Binns' class." Ron said practically.

"I absolutely will not!" She said, turning and walking to Binns' class, nose still in the air. Ron looked at Harry.

"You know she'll take notes anyway, and color-code them and everything. It's just her nature." Harry grinned and nodded.

"Too right. Let's go, I'm starving." By the time they had got to the kitchens, Harry's and Ron's stomachs were rumbling so loudly the house elves heard them through the door. Either that, or house elves just have an ear for that sort of thing. Welcoming them in, trays of food were pushed at them both. Harry was about to take a kipper off of one when a small, multicolored cannonball crashed into his legs, hugging them together so that Harry almost fell over.

"Mr. Harry Potter sir! You came to visit Dobby! How kind, Mr. Harry Potter! And Mr. Harry brought his Weezy! Hello, Mr. Weezy!" Dobby chattered. Harry and Ron laughed.

"Hello, Dobby. How are you?" Harry asked. He had not seen Dobby since school started. He saw that Dobby had collected many more sweaters and had six pairs of gloves and socks, so that his hands and feet looked many times bigger than normal. "Hold on, Dobby, I got you a present in Hogsmeade last week." Ron said. He took his wand out of his pocket and said, _Accio__ Dobby's Present! _With a zooming sound, a colorfully wrapped parcel flew over to them. Dobby squeaked in excitement. Harry looked curiously at Ron.

"Mr. Weezy is too kind sir, much too kind to Dobby." Dobby said, hopping up and down. Ron caught the package and gave it to Dobby, grinning almost as wide as him.

"I picked it out just for you, Dobby." Ron said. Dobby carefully tore open the package, taking out the contents. He stared. Then he looked at Ron, one shining tear in his large green eyes.

"Weezy has- has given Dobby _bling__?" _Dobby said, overcome with emotion. Harry looked at what he was holding. A large gold chain with the letters HP on it was lying in his hands. Harry stared, shocked and revolted. It was clearly fake, with the gold paint chipping off in places and the sparkly silver paint that was supposed to be 'diamonds' was almost gone. Ron snickered. Harry whirled to face him.

"Ron, you prat-" But he was interrupted by Dobby. He turned back to Dobby, who was now sticking his chest out so everyone could see the glittering HP dangling from his neck.

"Mr. Harry Potter must not be angry! This is a wonderful gift! Mr. Weezy was very kind to give it to Dobby!" He squeaked reproachfully. Then he lowered his voice, and, glancing around, told Harry, "Dobby must tell Mr. Harry Potter a secret, sir. Dobby was cleaning the Owlery early this morning, sir, because no other elf will clean it, because the owls sometimes snack on us elves, when Dobby saw a half-bird thing jumping out of the window!" Harry did a double take.

"What? What d' you mean a _half-bird thing_?" He asked urgently. Maybe Dobby had seen another weird animal, like the blue centaur.

"What Dobby means, sir, is that Dobby saw a creature with wings and claws and beak and feathers all over jumping out of the Owlery window, sir!" Dobby whispered. It seemed odd crosses between animals were all over the place.

"But when Dobby looked out the window, Dobby only saw six big birds, no half-bird in sight, Mr. Harry Potter sir!" Dobby squeaked. "The other elves do not believe Dobby. They say Dobby has had too much butterbeer, but Dobby knows what Dobby saw, sir!" He said. Ron and Harry exchanged glances while the house-elves filled Ron's pockets with kippers. They rushed back to class to tell Hermione.

(More Author's Note: Ah, middle school humor…)


End file.
